INDIANAPOLIS -
From the masses of Super Bowl fans crowding Georgia Street, the faithful, the grateful, and yes, even the fanciful, are flocking into St. John's Catholic Church.
"Hey, we are fun people", proclaimed Josephine Cadwallader. "We walked in and I said, 'Oh my God, Mary Catherine, there's the Pope!'"
She's referring to a cardboard cut-out of his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and a line of people waiting to have their picture taken with him.
Just a few steps a way, fans were putting their faces on the cardboard bodies of a priest and nun to pose for pictures.
Mary Catherine Manonna was loving it. "I've been mistaken for a nun so many times. I'm really not," she laughed.
For questions about the church, the faith or anything else, there's the Ask a Catholic corner.
Amy Yeagle, a graduate theology student, offers up answers.
"We don't emphasize guilt as much we used to," she said.
Who would, during a Super Bowl party?
One of the biggest is beneath a hangar-sized tent covering most of Victory Field.
Joel Geve is eager to get inside. "It's a once-in-a-life time experience. Not too many celebrities come to Indianapolis," he said.
They'll be in there Saturday, playing beach football for the Beach Bowl party. An outfield usually covered in snow this time of year is now ankle-deep in sand. There is no admission fee. The beach games and a concert are gift from DirecTV.
Near Lucas Oil Stadium, inside an old manufacturing building and large tent, workers are still preparing The Crane Bay for a pricey party. Fans will pay a thousand dollars each to rock with celebrities attending the Rolling Stone Bacardi Bash.
"You can interface with a lot of the stars, the NFL players and A list stars," said Gary Pajen. The retired Indianapolis Colts player turned businessman hopes see a lot local fans
If anyone wakes up with a guilty conscience, St. John's is open Super Bowl Sunday, too.
